32. Roaming through Romania

By Dennis

Andante. Some of you know that Don and I are co-owners of a sailboat called Andante. It is a musical term meaning “moderately slow”, or as I like to think of it, “slow and easy”. And this is what it has mostly been the last few days as we roam over the rolling hills through small Romanian towns, villages and gypsy settlements. No rain, no wind, and no Hungarian drivers. Andante Days!

Simleu Sylvaniei to Chendrea – 62km Avg 18.5 km/hr

After 6 continuous days of riding since Krakow on mostly busy roads, it was nice to get back on some country roads taking us through the small village of Panic on the way to Chendrea. Too bad they did not have signs when entering and exiting the village, especially the exit sign which typically is the village name with a diagonal slash through it, which we interpret as “No Panic”. It would have been a great picture! One of the good things about riding on country roads with no traffic is you have time to stop and take pictures, something not easily done on the busy highways.

I had an interesting experience while shopping in Zalau for lunch snacks. The woman behind the deli counter was talking on her phone when I approached, and to me it sounded like a personal call. I waited a couple of minutes then impatiently pointed at the sliced meat I wanted to buy. She could not understand how much I wanted so I pulled out Google Translate to show her. Still talking on the phone, she sliced the meat wrapped it, and handed it to me. I walked up to the cashier and she too was having a personal call which she continued while processing the 3 customers in front of me, and myself. Maybe they made phone plans too inexpensive in Romania (re: my 2000 minutes and 50gb for $9.00)?

Chendrea is a small town in the middle of nowhere with no church (believe it or not), 2 tiny grocery stores and one pension where we had booked a room. We shared the pension with 8 Vietnamese engineers who are here on a 2 year contract building a sewage system for the area. Most of them spoke English and all were very friendly, especially when they learned Don and I both were in Vietnam recently. It was a great place to stay except for the dog that barked all night long keeping Don awake while I slept soundly with my earplugs 🙂

Chendrea to Gherla – 68km Avg 18.7 km/hr

Romania has the second lowest wages in the EU, after Bulgaria, and this is very evident in the rural areas we passed through today. We are truly a novelty in the small villages as I doubt very many cyclists pass through this way. Most people seem very shy so I try to say buna (good morning/hello) or give them a friendly wave. Sometimes I get a buna in return, but often just a blank stare or aversion of eye contact. We have seen very few cars in these villages – the main source of transport are bicycles or horse drawn gypsy carts.

Gherla to Targu Mures – 98km Avg 18.6 km/hr

Romania banned smoking in enclosed spaces in 2015. Romanians are also big smokers, and with cigarettes costing approximately $3.50 a pack, 28% of the population smoke (including many teenagers). What this means is when going to a restaurant and sitting outside on the patio to avoid the heat inside, one enjoys a cloud of smoke with their meal. Not nice for non-smokers.

Today was a really pleasant ride on nice new roads with little traffic and interesting scenery. A little cold at the start of the day (7 degrees) and warming up to 27 later in the day. Another Andante day.

Targu Mures to Sighisoara – 76km Avg 19.5 km/hr

This was the 9th day of riding without a break and we are both tired, but there has not been anyplace we felt like staying for 2 nights.

The day started with an easy ride out of Targu Mures on pseudo bike paths for 5k and until we hit the busy road going south. After 20k of heavy traffic we bailed on our original route and took an alternative route even though it meant and extra 20k and a few more hills. It turned out to be a good decision however, as we passed through small villages that looked like they have not changed for hundreds of years and traverser hills blanketed with a patchwork of corn and sunflower fields. Romania is the biggest grower in all Europe of sunflowers for the production of oil.

We are in the Transylvania region of Romania, known for its medievel towns, villages, castles and fortresses (and Count Dracula’s famous Bran Castle!)

Sighisoara for 2 nights. Yahoo! A rest day!